


The Arrow's Way

by Skyla_Cordelia



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Eventual Relationships, F/M, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-16 14:08:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21037469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyla_Cordelia/pseuds/Skyla_Cordelia
Summary: Ashe Ubert had seemingly a happy childhood. He was with his parents in the family restaurant. Then one day after the death of his parents Ashe turned to life of theivery before being adopted by Lord Lonato Gaspard.A story of which a boy who lost his way became a man when he found his new family in the Blue Lions House at the Officer's Academy.





	1. Torque

**Author's Note:**

> Some parts of this eventual story is based on some information Ashe gives in his supports. Most of this story however is myself filling in the gaps.  
Ashe has been a favorite character of mine since I saw him, and as he is my video game son I have to write his beginnings full of tragedy.
> 
> Also, this is my first time writing on this platform!

_Torque: The unintentional twisting of the bow in the hand during shooting, causing undesirable arrow flight. _

As a child, Ashe Ubert had thought of himself as happy.

He was happy to assist in their family’s restaurant, learning cooking techniques from his father and learning which ingredients were the best from his mother. His bright green eyes would widen with each new technique and each new fact. During his early youth he assisted in the kitchen, stirring pots and sautéing a combination of onions and peppers. He knew cooking before he could even read.

When his younger siblings were born, Benjamin and Charlotte, he had been ecstatic. Ashe was learning even more things as he helped his parents take care of the new children. He had learned how to make special purees of squash and potatoes for them to eat as soon as they were old enough. Often, he would laugh and smile at the sight of his younger siblings squealing with delight of eating new foods.

To Ashe, winter was the best in Faerghus as the restaurant was always so warm from cooking and baking. The scents the filled the air was enough to make anyone salivate. So many guests from the Kingdom would stop by and eat a nice hearty meal to fill their icy cold bellies. Ashe enjoyed seeing so many different people, hearing stories.

Some of his favorite stories came from passing knights from the Church of Serios, or knights from neighboring houses such as House Rowe and from House Gaspard. Each story telling of a valiant rescue, stopping thieves and bandits, and helping villages from wandering Demonic Beasts made Ashe’s eyes widen with excitement and longing.

Could _he_ ever become a knight?

Oh no, that would be absurd! He was needed by his parents at the restaurant! He had to help prep vegetables for the day, and he had to make sure his brother and sister were taken care of before the restaurant opened.

But the thought of ever becoming a knight never truly left Ashe’s mind. He loved helping people, so of course that seemed like a good dream to imagine himself in. What weapon would he even use? A sword? A lance? An axe? He wasn’t too sure.

Ashe was happy with his family and their small restaurant.

That is until a plague of disease swept through the Gaspard region.

It started with coughs, fatigue, a fever, and even hallucinations. It wasn’t very sudden, it could take days, maybe even a couple of weeks, before the sickness crept in.

Ashe’s mother was affected first. She had collapsed in the kitchen while chopping vegetables, the knife slipping from her hands a nearly missing Ashe’s shoulder by mere millimeters. Her head had cracked against their floor, blood spilling from the wound, staining the white floor scarlet.

His father had rushed to assist his mother, panic in his eyes and in his voice as he ordered his eldest son to find some sort of medical kit that they kept in the restaurant. Ashe did his best to find it, trying to dodge questions from his younger siblings that were asking what was going on with their mother.

Ashe’s father managed to get his mother into bed, a towel wrapped around her head tightly to stop the bleeding. However, blood sept through with each agonizing cough. Her coughing had become so intense that speckle of red would stain her lips. After two days since she had collapsed, she was gone.

Ashe never seen his father look so heartbroken, him crouched on the side of the bed sobbing as his hands gripped his now deceased wife’s hand. The man had mourned for days, his owns coughs raging through him. When Ashe had tried to ask if his father was okay, the response was a cough so intense that he thought his father’s lungs would spit out of his mouth.

Soon, his father was gone too, his hand still gripped to his wife’s.

Now it was just Ashe and his very young siblings.

Ashe tried to keep the restaurant running on his own, but soon food ran out and he couldn’t prepare anymore. Firewood was scarce and he and his siblings were tinging blue from the cold. Every night when he tried to tuck his siblings in bed he was met with sad expressions and asked when they could have more food.

Every night, every question, Ashe couldn’t really answer. He felt so horrible, he was only a boy himself, being about eight years old when his parents passed, and he couldn’t make sure his brother and sister were fed. He used whatever money he found in the family home and bought as much non-perishable foods he could, but soon money ran out and once again food.

Ashe tried doing odd jobs around the small village he lived in in the Gaspard region. He tried working on farms to care for animals, but him being skittish with a horse almost caused a fire. He was given only enough gold that it could buy a quarter of a piece of bread. Ashe then tried to work on a pier with fishing; he had never learned properly how to fish and when a fish caught his line he was dragged into the river, scaring away all potential meals. He wasn’t given any gold for that, instead a hard kick to his side when he was thrown into the dirt.

Soon, no one wanted to offer him a job of any sort. It pained him to see his brother and sister drastically losing weight from improper food. When he did manage to secure food, either someone gifting it to him out of pity or someone was just throwing it away as it was old and moldy, Ashe had made sure that his siblings were fed before him.

One day… he was just so desperate.

In the small village where he lived, he went through the town square, practically begging for a job. Tears were in his eyes as he was on his knees, begging for a chance. Past employers when they saw a small boy grovel sneered and would kick him while he was down, telling him to give up and just die already as he was useless.

As he limped home, he saw a stand that was selling fresh fruit. He obviously didn’t have enough money to purchase fresh food, so he had asked if there was old food to be thrown away or to sell cheaply. The response was spit in Ashe’s freckled face, his bright green eyes dulled with pain and sadness.

His stomach had growled loudly. Without another word he snatched three red apples.

And he ran.

“Stop! Thief!” the stand-keeper had screamed, but Ashe ignored it as he weaved and bobbed through the crowd, desperate to get away from a few wandering knights that had happened to be town.

Ashe finally managed to hide in an alleyway as the knights clanged past in their heavy suits of armor. He looked down and saw the three apples, slightly bruised from him gripping to them tightly. With a start he dropped them, further bruising them.

What had he done? He _stole._

It was something his mother and father told him was wrong since he was able to walk.

He _stole_.

Tears streaked his cheeks. He felt as though he had no choice… Benjamin and Charlotte were counting on him. He watched his parents die… he couldn’t handle to see his siblings die as well.

He trotted home, his hands gripping the now heavily bruised apples. Once he entered the household both Benjamin and Charlotte bounced to him, their hazel eyes nearly sunken into their heads as they had lost so much weight. Their eyes saw the apples and the smiled a ghost of a smile, happy to see real food instead of scraps and bread.

_I have no choice…_ Ashe thought bitterly to himself. _I have to make sure they’re safe and fed._

So, the next say he wore a dark hood to cover his ash-gray hair and carried a small sack. He would sneak by stands and while the stand-keepers were distracted with a sale, Ashe used that opportunity to swipe food. He tried not to take too much from each stand or take expensive items. By the end of the day he had enough food to last him and his siblings a couple of days.

His heart ached at the thought that he was now a thief, something his father said was disgraceful and had heard many stories from knights saying they arrested or killed thieves.

But a flutter of happiness would fill his chest as he saw the two children eat happily, some color returning to their cheeks and the hollowness in their eyes being filled again.

Ashe Ubert had no choice. He became a thief to make sure his brother and sister were fed. And although sometimes he was caught and beaten, he would return the next day to try to claim the prize that was food once again, this time learning from his mistakes. He had even learned how to use a lock pick, although it took many beatings and near death to perfect, he was able to sneak into shops to take blankets and clothes that were desperately needed for the upcoming winter months.

With each item stolen, it was almost like he felt the disappointment from his parents and even the Goddess herself.

With each item stolen, he felt as though he was losing his way and his worth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please do give me tips on how to format this better and get my italics in.  
I am typing everything on a tablet as my actual computer is out of commission at the momment.


	2. Blunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashe and his siblings travel in the Gaspard region, but Ashe may have bitten more than he could chew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had finally figured out proper formating thanks to a dear friend! I appreciate those who had read and left kudos for the last chapter!

_Blunt_: _an_ _arrowhead_ _with_ _a_ _flattened_ _point_, _used_ _for_ _small_ _game_ _hunting_ _or_ _roving_.

The cold winter months were passing by ever so slowly that first year, him turning 9 years old that Wyvern Moon.

Ashe did his very best to chop as much firewood as he could to burn for their home. He could barely lift the rusted axe over his head, but the thought of his siblings needing him would just give him enough strength to follow through. Smaller trees came down easily, but most firewood Ashe would bring would be frozen, waterlogged logs that had once used to be tall trees to reach the Goddess herself. The wood would be useless for days, as wet wood would just smoke and not burn.

Sometimes if he was desperate for wood, he would steal a couple of logs from shops and some of the better off people in his village. As the winter went on the villagers had started to realize that is was Ashe that was stealing their products and food. Some villagers even obtained guard dogs that more than one occasion nearly tore Ashe’s leg off when he broke in for supplies.

The last straw for the village was when Ashe broke into a home of a traveling merchant family and put his siblings there for warmth and better food while the family was away selling their wares. Once Ashe was chased out, he tried to return to the family home.

Only to find that it was set aflame.

His home… his parents’ restaurant… turned to ash.

Now the Ubert children were left with no parents and no home.

In the dead of night Ashe then stole the basic supplies that they needed in order for them to travel across the Gaspard region. Luckily at this point winter was almost over, but the night was still below freezing and Ashe broke into barns and henhouses to make sure he and his siblings were warm enough for sleep.

“Big Brother?” they would ask him, their voices so small and scared. “When can we go home?”

There was no home for them now. It was burned to the ground. Ashe felt that his heart and dignity burned along with it. He didn’t want to keep stealing just to survive, but he felt he was left with no choice. Either he steals so his younger siblings and himself can survive, or he could try to earn money and slowly starve to death.

At a village or town, they would travel to, Ashe would pick up an odd job to earn enough gold for him and his siblings to stay at an inn for the night. Food was still a problem as the gold Ashe had earned was not enough for a single slice of bread. So, while his siblings would stay by the warm fire in their room, Ashe would dawn his hood and steal from fresh, unexpected people. This would be enough food to supply them for their travels more.

Benjamin and Charlotte complained many times from the distances they traveled. Where are they going? When can they stop? Will they see Mother and Father again?

Ashe, even at a young age, had the patience of a saint it seemed. He understood that they were so young, barely above toddler age when their parents passed. To the best of his ability he would their questions. The only question he would avoid, however, was when they asked about their parents.

“One day we will see them again,” Ashe would say hesitantly. “We will see them when the Goddess greets us many, many, many years from now.”

“But why, Big Brother?” Charlotte would whine as a response. “Why did the Goddess take them?”

“I… I… I don’t know…” he would reply, his voice often sounding broken.

After almost a couple of months of traveling, where the night chills were slightly warmer, the Ubert children arrived at a large town that was the biggest in the Gaspard region. It was almost a relief to Ashe to see the streets filled with people, carrying baskets of goods and children playing with the chickens and small dogs.

_ Maybe here I can find a more stable job… _Ashe thought to himself, a glimmer of hope spreading across his chest. _I_ _can stop stealing… Oh, Goddess please let me stop stealing…!_

Finding an odd job to do once they entered the town wasn’t too hard. It surprisingly paid enough for him and his siblings to stay at the inn for two nights instead of one. He did just that, ordered them a room after their long travels of being stuck in a smelly barn or henhouse. There was still some leftover food from their travels, but like previous times Ashe took up his hood and went out into the night to scope out the area and possibly get more supplies.

It was odd… he wasn’t the only one out and about in the night, with only the light of the full moon to light the path. Grown men stood outside of small buildings, a silver glint in their hands. At the sight of that, Ashe became uneasy and weary. This town wasn’t like the villages he had been to… it almost seemed… dangerous.

_ I’ll just ignore them!_

Except, it didn’t work out that way. Three large men came from a dark alleyway and grabbed him, twisting his arms to where they were painfully pinned into his back. A knife was at his throat as his hood fell, showing his gray hair. His bright green eyes were clouded with fear and pain. How did it end up like this?

“Oi, kid,” the large man with the knife to Ashe’s throat bellowed. “Watcha got there?” The man then gestured to Ashe’s empty leather pouch, not one gold coin in there.

“N-nothing!” Ashe managed to cry out, his voice shaking. “I have no money! Please, I’m just trying to get supplies for my siblings!”

The man’s dark eyes clouded with amusement. “Oi, ya here that? Kid is a little babe thief, trying to steal some bread and milk for his siblings!” he laughed heartily.

The man that had Ashe’s arms to his back then chipped in, “Hey… that lad is small enough… you think he can…?”

“Break into that old dastard Lord Gaspard’s castle?” the knife bandit finished. He took the knife from Ashe’s throat, something that the boy was quite thankful of, and started tossing the knife from hand to hand, clearly thinking. “Oi… that’s not a bad idea there…” He then lowered himself to Ashe’s level, looking him dead in the eyes. “Kid… if ya help us out at the end of the week with this heist, ya can have some gold to get ya by, yeah?”

Ashe was shaking, both from fear and the pain in his arms. Should he really do this? Who is to say that they wouldn’t turn on him in an instant anyway?

“How… how much gold?” Ashe’s voice quivered. “Like… enough to get a very small home and food…?”

“Oi, kid, that’s a lot more than one heist.”

“Then I’ll do more. Right now!” Ashe insisted. “Please! We have traveled very far… out home is gone; our parents are gone…!”

The bandit scratched his chin with the tip of his knife. “How about tomorrow night then? We’ll prep ya with some small stuff like a shop or something.”

Bile rose in Ashe’s throat. He didn’t want to do this… he didn’t want to keep stealing still. But… if he earned enough gold doing this and got stable, he could go get a legitimate job to keep things afloat. With a desperate and despaired glint in his eyes, he gave a nod. He was hoping it looked firm and determined and not like some scared little boy.

_But I am scared… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!


	3. Grouping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashe meets with bandits as per their agreement to do a heist, but before he does he meets someone that he could look up to as an older brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for support of this story so far everyone! I really appreciate this so much!

_Grouping: a close clustering of arrows on a target _

The leader of the bandits, the one with the knife, introduced himself as Klaus, gave Ashe specific instructions on where to meet for their small initiation for him as he waved a hand for his henchmen to release the boy.

“Now lad,” Klaus lowly growled. “If ya bring any knights with ya, just remember we know were ya are and that nice silver head of ya have is gonna be on a platter. Got it, yeah?”

Ashe didn’t hesitate when he nodded in agreement. He couldn’t risk his siblings getting hurt in the crossfire. “Of course!” he shakily agreed.

Klaus nodded. “Good lad…” he gave Ashe a pat on his head. “Ya do have an odd color of hair, doncha?”

Ashe tried his best not to squirm or yelp. “I-I get it from my mother…” he stammered nervously.

It was odd how genetics worked… His father had jet black hair and hazel eyes with olive colored skin, traits that Benjamin and Charlotte had inherited. However, Ashe had inherited his mother’s gray hair, although hers looked more like silver, the same piercing bright green eyes, the pale skin, and the freckles. It was one of the first things people notice about him, his hair and eyes.

“Ah…” Klaus mused. “Now lad, do ya know how to use a weapon?” Ashe shook his head. “Hmm… you’re a bit scrawny for an axe, lances may be a bit long, and swords I can’t really see ya using…” He gave it some thought but just shook his head. “Eh, we’ll figure it out later. I suggest ya go back to ya inn, lad.”

Ashe nodded quickly and scrambled up from the ground. He quickly put his hood back on and dashed away, not looking back on the group of bandits.

_Oh… what did I get myself into? _

**

The next morning Ashe returned to the town to do another few odd jobs to secure another night or two at the inn, he had to be prepared if the bandits truly turned on him.

This odd job was another for the pier, which made Ashe nervous to his last attempt. However, the person who hired him was just only asking Ashe to help carry fish back to his home. Sounded like easy gold. So, he followed the man to the pier, a large basket in his hands.

The man who hired him seemed pretty young, not like a teenager but a young adult. He was fairly tall, with pale blonde hair and his eyes were such a piercing cerulean blue, and he looked quite muscular from dedicated training.

“So, what is your name again?” the man asked Ashe, him settling fishing gear on the pier.

“Ashe.”

“Well, Ashe, my name is Christophe,” the man introduced. He gave a large smile, the edges of his eyes crinkling. Despite being so young he truly smiled a lot.

“Greetings, Christophe.”

“How old are you, Ashe?”

“Nine… I’ll be turning ten the 17th of the Wyvern Moon.”

“Ah… ten, I remember when I was that age,” Christophe blissfully commented. He then grabbed his fishing pole and went to bait it, something he did with such speed and skill that Ashe was in awe. “Trying to help your parents with extra gold?” he then asked.

“Um…” Ashe barely whispered. He didn’t really want to talk about his parents. “Sort of…” he just simply replied.

Christophe threw his line, the hook splashing into the water with a light plink sound. “Do you know how to fish, Ashe?” he then asked the young boy. Ashe shook his head. “I can show you if you want?”

Ashe stiffened, an odd feeling in his chest. This man wanted to teach him? The last person who really taught him anything was his father with cooking.

“Is… something the matter, Ashe?”

“N-no… I’d like to learn…”

Christophe took his left hand and patted the spot next to him on the pier. Once Ashe sat down the fishing line went taut, signaling that there was a bite. Without hesitation, Christophe pulled on the pole, fighting with the fish. With a _pop_ the line was pulled from the water and came a nice looking trout.

“WOW!” Ashe exclaimed, his bright green eyes wide. “That was amazing!”

“Now, I get to show you!”

And Christophe did just that, he showed Ashe how to bait the hook; although it took the silver-haired boy a few tries before he was successful. Next, Christophe went through the motions of throwing the line out, and after a couple of swings Ashe managed to get the line a good distance. After a few minutes the line went taut which caused Christophe to encourage Ashe to fight against it and pull the fish up.

_POP! _

Ashe lifted the pool higher, seeing a small red bass wriggling about, desperate to be free.

_ I… I caught my first fish! _

“Hey, great job, Ashe!” bellowed Christophe. “That’s a decent first catch!”

Ashe felt proud of himself. For the first time in over a year he felt as though he did something truly good. This didn’t make him feel dirty like when he stole. It was almost like a redemption.

“I have an extra pole, so let’s get to fishing!” Christophe informed Ashe.

Together the two filled the basket to the brim with fish. Ashe found sitting next to Christophe very comforting, it was almost like being with an older brother.

“I always wanted a younger brother…” Christophe commented wistfully, as though he practically read Ashe’s mind. “But unfortunately my mother had passed before she could have another child and my father decided not to find a second love.”

Ashe felt bad for Christophe. He would’ve made a terrific big brother.

“I have a little brother and sister…” Ashe said. “They just turned five actually.”

“You must be a terrific big brother to go and earn money to help out.”

Ashe’s face blushed red from the compliment. Although it was a fib about earning money to help his parents, it was still a nice compliment as everything he is doing is to help his siblings.

Christophe got up from his spot on the pier with a loud groan, stretching himself out after sitting for so long. He offered a hand to Ashe and assisted the young boy up, Ashe grimacing as he almost lost balance due to his leg had fallen asleep. Ashe then tried to lift the basket of fish, but it was too heavy and he nearly dropped it.

Ashe froze in his tracks. Was Christophe going to scorn him like the villagers in his old village had done? But he was so nice! But… people aren’t really what they seem, right? Ashe was a prime example, a young boy who looked innocent enough but was actually a dirty thief.

“Hey, I can get that,” Christophe said gently as he lifted the basket with ease. “You can carry the poles and the bucket of bait, okay?”

Ashe nodded enthusiastically and gathered the items. He trotted right behind Christophe, a smile on his face. They made some more small conversation, like Christophe asking more about Benjamin and Charlotte. Soon, they arrived at a large stone castle. Ashe stopped and his bright green eyes gazed upon the stone exterior.

“Um… what is this place…?” Ashe asked in a small voice.

“Castle Gaspard,” Christophe answered as if it were obvious. “You never… heard of it?”

“I knew I lived in Gaspard territory…”

Christophe explained off handedly, “We are a much more minor Noble family. Powerful enough to aid in military affairs when needed but we don’t hold a family Crest like Gautier or Fraldarius.”

“‘We’”? Ashe echoed.

Christophe gave a smile. “Well… yeah. I live here. I am Christophe Gaspard after all, heir to this house.”

Before Ashe could say anything to the revelation, Christophe lead Ashe into a side door which lead to one of the most pristine kitchens that Ashe had ever seen. The countertops were made with an elegant stone, and it looked so clean that Ashe could see his reflection in it. Beautiful stoves and wood burning ovens stretched out the northern wall, able to make a feast that could feed the entire village it seemed like.

“Wow… this kitchen is amazing…!” Ashe exclaimed breathlessly. “My family’s restaurant never had this!”

“Ah, so your family ran a restaurant?” guessed Christophe. “I take it you must know how to cook a bit?”

Ashe looked to Christophe in surprise. “‘A bit’?” he echoed. “I’ll have you know I can make at least a dozen dishes using the different types of fish here!”

Christophe laughed loudly, his hands up in defense. “Okay, okay, Ashe, I believe you!” he managed to choke out. He then went into his pouch and took out some gold and handed it to Ashe. “Here you go, kid. Thank you for your help today.”

Ashe counted the gold and gave a slight frown. “Um… Christophe? I think you made a mistake… there is a lot more gold here than what was agreed upon…”

The young man gave a large smile. “Well… I figured you deserved a tip for being such great company today,” he explained. He then took one of the poles from Ashe. “You can keep the other one, that way you can practice.”

Tears stung Ashe’s eyes. Since the death of his parents… since turning to a life of thievery… since watching his home burn down… he felt as though he was wanted as a human being. Christophe was so nice, and he was a noble too! Ashe had always thought nobles would be much more degrading to commoners such as himself.

“Thank you!”

**

That night after leaving Castle Gaspard Ashe had returned back to the inn and paid for a decent meal for his siblings to eat while he went out for his meeting with the bandits.

As always his dark hood covered his hair, helping block out the cooler wind and the light drizzle of rain. Per what he was told the night before he went to the meeting spot, him shifting from foot to foot waiting for Klaus and the others.

“Oi, there ya are, lad!” Klaus’ voice bellowed. He appeared from an alleyway and clapped a large hand on Ashe’s back, almost causing the young boy to collapse. “Ready for this test?”

The group of bandits and Ashe then went to a small shop that Ashe had seen earlier during is outing with Christophe. It seemed to be a shop that sold basic armor and weapons, the door was locked tightly, obviously to keep the thieves out.

“Oi, Jasper!” Klaus called. “Get over here and pick this!”

Jasper didn’t even make a step yet as Ashe was already at the door picking it. The door opened wide as Ashe gave a smile.

Klaus blinked in surprise. “Lad… where dis ya learn that?” he questioned.

“I taught myself…” Ashe replied sheepishly.

“That was way faster than Jasper…” “

HEY!” shouted Jasper, clearly offended.

The group tiptoed inside the shop, the larger of the bandits going for axes and gauntlets. Ashe peered round and saw a small dagger or two; It could be useful for him when he was by himself. He snagged an iron dagger and its sheath, clipping it to the small leather belt on his right side.

The other bandits were wiping clean any lances and swords they could get as well, some even picking up iron chest pieces. As the bandits raided, Ashe went through the door that lead to the home of the shopkeepers, something he had always done at his old village. He heard snores in a distant room, so he knew he had to be quiet as a mouse. Slowly, he tiptoed into the main room, looking for something he knew every shop had.

_ Ah-ha! _

Ashe managed to find a loose floorboard and moved it. Inside was a few large sacks of gold. This was a lot more than the shops at his old village had. He took two of the sacks, leaving the last one for the shopkeeper so they still had an income. When Ashe went to put the floorboard back, he felt a tip of something in the small of his back.

“What do you think you’re doing, brat!?” a man hissed angrily.

Ashe dropped the two sacks of gold, his hands trembling in front of him.

“Turn around slowly…” the man ordered. Ashe did as he was told, immediately recognizing that it was none of his bandit companions. “I should kill you for what you’re doing!”

“Please…!” Ashe cried out, tears threatening to spill. “I’m j-just trying to feed my little brother an sister!”

“I don’t care! Your parents should’ve been better raising-!” his voice was caught off when all of a sudden a sword had been lunged through the back of his head. The man that was most likely the shopkeeper collapsed to his knees as the sword was removed. He fell face first onto the floor, blood pouring from the wound and began creeping thickly to Ashe’s black boots.

“Oi, lad, the hell ya doing!?” Klaus scolded. “Grab the gold and come on! We can’t be here too much longer!”

Ashe did as he was told, ignoring the fact that the sacks he had dropped were now covered in blood, and followed Klaus closely. He turned back and saw the body of the shopkeeper twitching as life was leaving him. It wasn’t the first time Ashe saw death, but that didn’t mean it still didn’t affect him.

The group of bandits left their target, going far as they could from the scene in case knights showed up. The bandits cheered as they showed off their goods, Klaus giving them their shares of the gold that Ashe had taken. When Klaus gave Ashe his share of the gold, which was only a little bit less than what Christophe had given him earlier, he noticed that ghastly look on Ashe’s face.

“What’s eating ya, lad?” Klaus asked, a his voice surprisingly a gently tone.

“Did… did you really had to kill him?” the boy sobbed, tears freely spilling down his cheeks. “He could’ve had a family! The only one making gold for them to live!”

Klaus gave a shrug. “It’s killed or be killed, lad,” he explained simply. “He was gonna kill ya, and you’re a kid, so I wasn’t going to let that happen.”

Ashe then took the dagger he stole out of his sheath and held it in the palm of his hand. Could he ever use this against another living human being? Would the Goddess ever forgive for taking a life?

Would he ever forgive himself?


End file.
